M. Sholokhov, "Quiet Flows the Don": analysis of the work, plot, plot, male and female images

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Analysis of the work "Quiet Flows the Don" makes it possible to understand the epic novel of the writer Mikhail Sholokhov. This is the main work of his life, for which in 1965 the author was given the Nobel Prize in Literature. The epic was written from 1925 to 1940, initially published in the magazines Oktyabr and Novy Mir, then repeatedly reprinted. In the article we will tell the plot of the novel, analyze the book, as well as the main female and male characters.

Creating an epic

To analyze the work "Quiet Flows the Don", you need to understand that this is one of the most significant novels in the history of Russian literature of the 20th century. Telling his plot, it should be noted that the pages of the epic depict a panorama of the life of the Don Cossacks during the First World War, the October Revolution and the Civil War.

Author of "Quiet Flows the Don" MikhailSholokhov admitted that he began to write it in October 1925, but soon the work came to a standstill. The writer considered that the novel about the revolution on the Don would remain incomprehensible to the reader if the whole background of the events was not told. He spent the next year collecting material and thinking about the idea.

The final version of the work "Quiet Don" was started in November 1926 in the village of Veshenskaya, where Sholokhov worked for the next nine months. By August 1927 he had finished the first three parts and went to Moscow with them. Publication began only in January 1928. The book quickly became a success, making its author a celebrity.

He worked on the last part of the novel in Veshenskaya in the late 1930s. In letters to Stalin, he attributed the constant delays to the unfavorable situation created by the regional NKVD. As a result, the intervention of the leader was required, who ordered to provide the Russian writer with normal working conditions.

Book One

Summary of the work "Quiet Don" will help you learn about the main events of the novel without even reading it. The story begins with the fact that Prokofy Melekhov brings a Turkish woman to his native Cossack farm from another war against the Ottoman Empire. Before her death, she manages to give birth to a son, who receives the name Pantelei.

Pantelei himself has three children - Grigory, Petro and Dunyasha. Grisha gets notoriety because of his relationship with the married Aksinya Astakhova, who was the victim of sexual abuse by her father. To hush up thisstory, Grigory is married to Natalia Korshunova.

After some time, the main character still leaves his wife. Grigory and Aksinya are hired as workers on the estate of retired General Listnitsky. However, his son shows interest in Aksinya, which provokes Gregory to jealousy. Meanwhile, Natalya cuts her throat with a scythe, but survives.

World War I

When the war begins, Melekhov goes to the front. With his regiment, he fights on the Austrian border. In the farm itself, Shtokman is arrested, who turns out to be a member of the Bolshevik Party, he has been conducting anti-government agitation among local residents for several years.

In the war, Gregory for the first time in his life goes into battle against the Austrians near Leshnev. In the next battle, he is wounded, but remains alive. He is awarded the rank of constable and the St. George Cross.

Aksinya has been living in Yagodny all this time. She gives birth to a daughter from Gregory, who dies of scarlet fever in infancy. Being in despair, she becomes close to the centurion Eugene, who has been courting her for a long time. Gregory, having learned about the betrayal, beats his beloved with a whip. After that, he returns to his native farm to his legal wife.

Second Book

Summary of the work "Quiet Don" will help you prepare for an exam or seminar on this novel. The actions of the second volume take place in Polissya in 1916. The officers discuss in the dugout the vague future of the Russian army in this war, after which Yesaul Listnitsky writesdenunciation of his colleague Bunchuk.

Bunchuk turns out to be a Bolshevik, he deserts, and anti-war leaflets are actively distributed at the front.

Melekhov is a hero, saves his enemy Stepan Astakhov, Aksinya's legal husband, from death in East Prussia. But he is wounded and taken prisoner. Grigory's wife gives birth to twins, but the world is in a state of uncertainty as the Cossacks learn of the tsar's abdication.

Listnitsky is transferred to Petrograd, where he acts on the side of Kornilov. Bunchuk also appears, now in the role of a revolutionary agitator. After the October Revolution, the Cossacks return to the Don.

During the revolution Grigory can't find himself, he doesn't know which side to take. The Civil War begins on the Don. For White, Kaledin becomes the center of attraction. Melekhov fights on the side of the Red Army, he is depressing by the massacre of the prisoners. In Rostov, Bunchuk directs mass executions, which morally destroy him. The rebellious Cossacks capture him along with Podtelkov, sentencing him to death.

Third volume

By the spring of 1918, the Cossacks were divided into those who support the Bolsheviks, and those who want the independent existence of the Don region. The Germans are standing in Millerovo. In Novocherkassk, on the Cossack circle, they choose General Krasnov as chieftain. Pantelei Melekhov also participates in the elections.

By the end of summer, Grigory was already a platoon commander in the Don Army. Now he fights against the Reds. Sholokhov pays special attentionattention to the negotiations of the leadership of the Volunteer Army of Denikin and the Don Army of Krasnov, in order to act together against the Reds.

Listnitsky at the front remains without a hand. He marries the widow of his colleague Olga Gorchakova, and then returns to Yagodnoye with his young wife. By December, the Reds go on the counteroffensive. The Cossacks, who began to act on the side of the Bolsheviks, form a gap in the defense of the Don region, opening the way for the Eighth Red Army.

The Melekhovs are thinking of retreating to the south, but they are sorry to leave the economy. The Reds do not like Gregory: they pester the Cossacks, take away the horses, there are rumors about the execution of former officers. One of the first victims is the father-in-law of the protagonist Miron Korshunov.

Grigory himself avoids arrest by hiding with his friend. In the spring of 1919, the Veshensky uprising begins. The Reds leave the farm, and the rebels free Pantelei Melekhov. A platoon led by Gregory attacks a punitive detachment of the Reds, commander Likhachev is captured. But in the next battle, the Bolsheviks win back. Pyotr Melekhov, who is in captivity, is killed by Mishka Koshevoy, who has gone over to the side of the new government.

Grigory leads the Veshensky rebel regiment. The death of his brother hardens him. He reluctantly leaves the prisoners alive, obeying only the requests coming from the headquarters of the rebels. The detachment of the protagonist smashes a large division of the Red Army in Kargaly. Intoxicated by temporary successes, Melekhov is increasingly taking to the bottle, he starts having problems with alcohol.

Among the reds beginunrest. The Bolshevik Shtokman was killed. The rebels are negotiating with the Don Army to join forces against the Bolsheviks. From the lower Don they receive shells and cartridges on airplanes. However, the Red Army manages to gather significant forces for a decisive blow. The rebels are being pushed out of their positions.

Found on the side of the Soviet regime, Mishka Koshevoy burns down the houses of the rich, wooing Duna Melekhova.

Fourth volume

Melekhov is now fighting on the side of the Don army. In his heart he always remained a free Cossack. Therefore, he does not like the old order, discipline and officer shouts that are being revived in these military units. As a result, he even goes into direct conflict with General Fitskhelaurov. The main character does not like the presence of foreign military on his land. The personification of the intervention is a smug British officer who does not take off his pith helmet.

At this time, Dmitry Korshunov, brother of Melekhov's wife, leads a punitive Cossack detachment. He cracks down on the family of Mishka Koshevoy, wanting to avenge the death of his relatives.

The leadership of the Don Army headed by General Sidorin arrives in the farm. Daria Melekhova is awarded for the massacre of captured Red Army soldiers. But the Cossack does not feel like a heroine. Due to the wild life she led in recent years, the woman contracted syphilis. And because of the material bonus that she is en titled to along with the award, she quarreled with her father-in-law Panteley. In the summer of 1919, Daria drowns herself in the river.

Natalya Melekhova is having a hard time too. Gregoryremains with her only formally, he himself still loves Aksinya. In the presence of her father-in-law, she curses her husband, and then dies during an unsuccessful abortion.

The White command disbands the rebel division in which Melekhov fought. Gregory himself is appointed a centurion, sending him to fight against the Bolsheviks in the Saratov province. On the front line, he meets a British tank driving instructor, Lieutenant Campbell. In the evening, over cognac, through an interpreter, he confesses to him that the Reds cannot be defeated.

Pantelei is mobilized into the White Army, but he deserts from there. He is caught by punishers from a detachment of Kalmyk Cossacks. It is only thanks to the glory of his sons that he manages to escape punishment.

In the autumn of 1919, the Reds occupy the village of Veshenskaya. In autumn, Gregory, who is ill with typhus, is brought to the farm. By November, he manages to recover. In December, the Tatarsky farm begins to evacuate, unable to withstand the pressure of the Reds. Grigory and Aksinya also go south. On the way, the woman falls ill with typhus. The main character has to leave her in Novo-Mikhailovsky.

In early 1920, Melekhov fled to Belaya Glina, where by that time several thousand refugees were gathering. In this place, he meets his father, who is dying of typhus. His run continues. Grigory himself re-infects with this disease, this time he is cured by the batman Prokhor. In the spring, Grigory is already in Novorossiysk, where he oversees the evacuation of the Volunteer Army.

The end of the novel

At the end of the novel, a recovered Aksinya returns to her native farm. is comingProkhor, who lost his arm in the Civil War. He says that Melekhov after Novorossiysk went to serve in the army of Budyonny, fought with the Polish uhlans.

Mishka Koshevoy also arrives at the farm, who begins to look after the sister of the protagonist Dunyasha. Her mother Ilyinichna reproaches the man for murder, but allows him to start helping with the housework. As a result, she forgives her son's killer, blessing her daughter for an alliance with him. Soon Ilyinichna dies, after that Aksinya takes Melekhov's children to her.

Koshevoi receives the chairmanship of the farm revolutionary committee. But soon he will be demobilized from the Red Army due to malaria.

Grigory also comes to his home after the defeat of the army of Baron Wrangel. A peaceful life does not stick to him, old grievances and disagreements pop up in his memory all the time.

Prokhor retells the story of the family of General Listnitsky. The old officer died of typhus in Morozovskaya, and his son shot himself because of his wife's infidelity in Ekaterinodar.

At this time, Fomin is at the head of a rebellion against the system of food requisitions. Gregory is also in his "gang", they are hiding from the Reds. Coming out from under his influence, the main character secretly returns to the farm and takes Aksinya. But on the banks of the Chir River, they run into a food detachment. Aksinya dies. After wandering around the steppe for some time, Gregory returns to his home. He fires his rifle. At the end of the novel, the protagonist hugs his beloved son, whom Mishutka affectionately covenanted.

Problems

Analysis of Sholokhov's product"Quiet Flows the Don" must begin with the fact that its problems are extensive and complex. The book touches upon the universal problems of the people against the backdrop of colossal historical events.

The life of the Russian Don Cossacks is depicted in Sholokhov's work "Quiet Don". This estate, which has always considered itself special, lived isolated from landless peasants and peasants, was constantly supported by the highest ranks.

Giving a brief analysis of the work "Quiet Don", we emphasize that it describes the problems associated with the revolution and the First World War. Understanding all the inconsistency of these events, the author demonstrates the cruelty and senselessness of the war. Important events are presented to them through the fates of the main characters.

In the analysis of Sholokhov's work "The Quiet Flows the Don", it is shown how the war and revolution affected the fate of one single family. The Melekhovs were a strong and large family, in which everyone revered their father before the war. He was considered the master of the house. But the revolution claims the lives of many representatives of this family. By the beginning of peacetime, only Grigory with his young son and his sister Dunya remained alive. A large family is destroyed and practically destroyed by the war. So it was with hundreds and thousands of other families. This is the essence of the work "Quiet Don".

The contradictions of the Time of Troubles affect the lives of the heroes. In the analysis of the work "Quiet Flows the Don", it must be said that the central character of the novel, Grigory Melekhov, does not know who to listen to, who to follow. Even in the finale, he remains at a crossroads, lonely and abandoned by everyone. ATthis reveals one of the themes of Sholokhov's work "The Quiet Flows the Don" - this is the connection between the fate of an individual and historical events throughout the country.

An important place in the novel is occupied by the problem of maternal feelings. Ilyinichna forgives Mikhail, who killed her son, accepting him into the family as a son-in-law.

When analyzing the work "Quiet Don", it is important to dwell on the problem of female fidelity, love and passion. Its author demonstrates the relationship between Grigory and Aksinya, Mishka and Dunyashka, Grigory and Natalya as an example. All these are vivid examples of devotion and fidelity of the Cossacks. But there are also completely different characters, for example, the wife of the elder brother of the protagonist Daria, who deceived her husband during her lifetime, and after her death does not honor his memory. For this, fate punishes her - she commits suicide after learning that she has contracted a "bad disease." Realizing how she will be treated, she drowns herself in the river.

An important theme of the work "Quiet Flows the Don" is social stratification. It is a problem of the weak and the strong, the poor and the rich. The author argues that all wars start solely because of human ambitions, for the right to be called strong. Thousands of innocent people are dying as a result.

Finally, this is a novel about the eternal pursuit of every person for happiness, as well as the suffering that befalls the heroes. There is especially a lot of suffering and upheaval during wars and great upheavals, which were many in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century.

Speaking briefly about the analysis of the work "Quiet Flows the Don" by Sholokhov, it should be noted that the author also raises such global problems aslike the collapse of the old world and the birth of a new one. Many of his characters are typified. For example, the image of Ilyinichna embodies the best features of a Russian Cossack woman and a real mother. By her example, we understand what a woman's lot is when a mother loses her entire family.

Main male look

Among the main characters of the work "Quiet Don" there are many bright male images. The key one is Grigory Melekhov. This is a Cossack, on the example of which the author demonstrates the plight of the Russians who lived on the Don.

In Melekhov we see the hero of the work "Quiet Flows the Don", who is not able to leave his usual way without mental anguish. What he did every day. Such a life exhausts him, as it requires a lot of work, but he continues to feel closer to his native land.

At the beginning of the work "Quiet Flows the Don" Melekhov is a Cossack who firmly stands on his land, he plans to become a good and responsible family man, loves to work. But inside he has an explosive character, due to lack of experience in life, he makes many mistakes.

Leaving his wife, he gives in to feelings for a married neighbor Aksinya. Young people leave Tatarsky, having gone to the service of a certain landowner. After that, Gregory takes down one blow of fate after another. The protagonist is constantly rushing through life, unable to find the only right solution. After all the horrors of the Civil War that he witnesses, Melekhov still does not know who is right and what to do next.

BIn the final, he comes home, where his sister and son live. Gregory becomes the embodiment of not only an ordinary representative of the Don Cossacks, but also all those who experienced the hardships of the revolution and the Civil War.

Female images

Female images are vividly presented in the work Quiet Don. One of the central images in the novel is the image of Aksinya, in her readers are attracted by willpower, independence, self-esteem. sacrifice yourself.

She is contrasted in the novel by Natalya, in whose character the features of a true Cossack woman also appear. But she is a representative of a fundamentally different type of woman - a patriarchal homemaker, a faithful wife and a loving mother. Children and husband are the main happiness for her. That is why she could never understand her husband's mental turmoil, there was always an insurmountable wall between them. Although the author draws Natalia herself closed and limited, she has the church and moral law on her side.

Women's images help Sholokhov comprehend the new era that is coming in the fate of the Cossacks. With their help, he reveals her essence.